Edgerton recount yields same results

EDGERTON  Lyle Maves said Sunday's recount should put to rest any questions about the Edgerton City Hall referendum.

After a four-hour recount, the results were the same as they were Tuesday.

The referendum passed by 17 votes.

Out of 751 ballots cast, 384 people voted in favor of a constructing a new city hall; 367 voted "no."

Voters narrowly approved a referendum allowing the city to spend up to $1.2 million on a new city hall to be built in the parking lot next to the existing one at 12 Albion St.

The city has discussed its need for a new facility for years. Architects and engineers have said the existing 3,100-square-foot building lacks space and needs significant repair.

Maves, 909 Sweeney Road, was the resident who petitioned for the recount.

Maves filed the paperwork Friday, and the recount took place at the Edgerton Public Library early Sunday morning.

Maves thought a recount was a good idea considering the low number of ballots cast, the narrow margin between the "yes" and "no" votes, and the "issue with the ballots and tabulating machine," Maves wrote in a statement to the Gazette.

The issue was that when voting officials ran the ballots through the optical scanning machine, the total number of ballots cast didn't add up, council member Chris Lund said.

That happened Tuesday and during Sunday morning's recount, Lund said.

When officials counted the ballots by hand, the numbers added up correctly on Tuesday and Sunday, he said.

Maves is in favor of building a new city hall.

He thinks all Edgerton residents, no matter how they voted Tuesday, recognize the aging city hall needs some kind of attention.

Given Rock County's high unemployment rate, pending cuts to state aid and the city's future financial obligations, Maves wrote that he urges Edgerton's elected officials "to be prudent and frugal with the taxpayers' dollars during these difficult economic times."